Beer of the Bass

From experience with the torch cleaning files, they're fine for minor shaping on a plastic nut (like lowering existing slots or changing string gauge), but a bit useless if making a nut from an unslotted blank, particularly with harder materials like bone. So they're useful to have around, but don't totally replace the fancy nut files.

You may find you're OK even with individual pole pieces. Rickenbacker toasters for both guitar and bass have six polepieces under the cover. I've got a Kent Armstrong copy of one on my four string, and have no problems with string balance. How the tone of a guitar humbucker would translate to bass would take some guesswork, however.

I had a similar issue on a fretless, and found that the neck relief also makes a big difference to getting that sound. A flatter relief seems to maximise the "mwah" qualities, so it might be worth checking it and adjusting the truss rod if necessary.

I'm not really an expert, but the shape of the body around the heel suggests it is blockless (i.e with the ribs set directly into the neck, rather than using a neck block). Along with the hatpeg tuners and decorative purfling at the heel, this often a characteristic of older Germanic basses - around the late 19th to early 20th century would be a rough estimate. With a decent ebony board fitted and the cracks sorted, it'll probably be a good sounding bass, the sort of thing a lot of working jazzers seem to use. A full restoration on any bass tends to be expensive, to the point of exceeding the value of lower end basses, but it may be possible to get it into a playable state with less than that.

Mind you, who wants to go on stage in their slippers? Nothing wrong with a good Fender, but there is definitely a place for the more wild & interesting stuff out there!

Nice and compact for a valve amp! I wouldn't think the value would be massive, but this would be a nice little studio/rehearsal/small gig amp for somebody.

Largest; packed 900 capacity venue on new year's eve. Smallest; erm, 0. We kept playing, too!

It's a long shot, but if you have the number from the sticker on the side, why not email Eminence and ask what would be the closest replacement from their current line? I've heard they don't give out specs for OEM units, but will tell you if it's close to any of the retail drivers.

Another one completed. Cheers, Martin

It's also worth mentioning that reverb pans (usually mounted in the bottom of guitar combos) don't like being near power transformers - it makes them hum. Probably only a problem if the guitarist uses loads of reverb though.

Check your spelling, dude! I didn't spot any gardening tools in the video...

I played a 12 1/2 pound bass for years, and am now using one weighing just a tad over 9 1/2 pounds, which is much more bearable. 12 1/2lbs gives me shoulder problems, 9 1/2lbs doesn't. I think 8lbs or less is light, 9-10 is medium and anything over 10 is heavy. Come to think of it, my dog weighs 10 1/2 lbs, so I should set up a big set of scales like they use for witches in The Holy Grail. Anything weighing the same or less than the dog would be OK!

I wonder how much use it would be, as our perception of tension varies a lot with the flexibility and elasticity of the string as well as absolute tension. As an example, Thomastik Dominants feel about as stiff to play as Spiro Mittels, but I am told the measured tension is lower.

Double bass looks good, and that's sometimes the most important thing in busking. You need something that makes people stop and have a look, and only then will they check out the actual music. On that basis, a bass balaika would work well too! I'm busking with a singer/guitarist, portable drum kit and occasional fiddle in Edinburgh through the festival. We amplify the singer a little and everything else goes unamped. The best way to make money out of it seems to be to have CDs available at £5 a time. They make a big difference to how much we can bring in, and it's a good way to get our stuff out there.

The idea that there is a "correct volume" for the cavity which must not be deviated from is bizarre. It might make sense on a true acoustic instrument, but not on a chambered solid body. Why not just come clean and say that the lack of an access panel is for aesthetics? It is an interesting looking instrument though, and someone out there may love it.

Not positive this time, I'm afraid. I bought a Pignose amp from Graham on the 5th August. On the 11th, he messaged me with "Hello fella, sorry for the lateness the Amp should be there in a day ir two ". I then messaged him two more times over the next few days, as there was still no sign of the amp. He spun me a story that he was away from home camping and didn't have the tracking details with him, yet when the amp arrived, the label clearly showed he hadn't actually dispatched it until the 16th. So why did he imply that he had already posted it on the 11th? When the amp arrived, the input jack was intermittent and crackly and the power jack appears to either be missing or broken. The description did not mention either of these things. I am going to hang on to the amp and fix these, but there is no way I would deal with this guy again. I hate having to post negatively, but the feedback system is worthless if I don't.

[quote name='chrisd24' post='1339062' date='Aug 13 2011, 08:18 PM']Out of curiosity what does an alnico magnet look like?[/quote] It's a dullish grey metallic looking material. On alnico Fender pickups, the polepieces themselves are the magnets - there is no bar magnet on the bottom.

Well, I got through it and it wasn't too bad! Only three of the four songs got recorded due to time constraints. Conveniently, the one that got dropped was the one where I was really struggling with the score, so that issue didn't come up. I'd got the wrong end of the stick about them wanting to record the whole string section live - We laid down double bass, organ/piano and guide vocals live, with good separation, so we could drop things in for minor errors. I'd say I'm happy with my playing on the first two we did. The third track was a rush job in the last half hour of the session and will require some editing to get a good complete take, but there wasn't time to do more. The parts are actually not too complicated, but have some weird timing going on due to following a singer with loose, folky delivery. So, lessons learned are as follows: - I should have a bit more confidence in my playing. I did a decent job and didn't hold things up particularly. - It wouldn't hurt to do some work on my reading. I think i was mostly bricking it as I'm not used to having to get material laid down straight from notation in a short time. Any suggestions of good ways to develop my reading are welcomed. - Handwritten scores can be a nightmare! I think I should be prodding my friend to use Sibelius or similar.

[quote name='lowdown' post='1337597' date='Aug 12 2011, 01:30 PM']To be honest from reading your posts, little thought has gone onto the charts, IE - like you say above and notes out of range, unclear directions etc. Well in my experience that always leads to one thing -[b] All [/b]the band charts will be like that, and time will be wasted sorting it all out on the job, And that includes the other Musicians. Oh and dont worry about string players being 'On it' they will be even more confused than you if it is not written out correctly.... You will all be in the same boat, so just enjoy it. Garry[/quote] You may be right. I've spent most of today playing through the parts, so I feel like I'm doing what I can. I think 2 of the 4 songs will be OK, one is marginal and one will need some rehearsal to work at all. It's an odd band dynamic - they're sort of folk-rock with proggy leanings, the drummer sings and writes most of the songs, and has ambitiuous ideas of what he wants to do with the music, but he doesn't read or write music, so the keyboard player/vocalist runs around frantically sorting out arrangements etc. I think the drummer/songwriter can sometimes fail to appreciate how much effort other people are putting in to making his music happen, or that time is needed for this.

I mean four and a half beats in a bar of 4/4, but only in the bass part, not in the other lines! It's an obvious cock up in the part writing. There are a few other things like that too.

Well, I'm spending a few hours today reading through the parts, there's nothing there that I couldn't play, it's just the thought of getting all of that down in one day without rehearsal. I think they're recording all of the string instruments live, so there may be limited opportunities to drop in and re-do parts. I think they're getting a bit too ambitious for the studio time and budget they have, and the scores haven't been prepared very well - it's often unclear which section of songs is being referred to, and some parts just don't make sense (like 4 1/2 beats in a bar of 4/4). I've called them and explained my worries, but the studio is booked and they wouldn't be willing/able to pay for some top flight classical dude anyway. I'll let you know how it went...

For the last couple of years, my friend's band, who are doing fairly well, have had me in to do double bass overdubs on their recordings. It's generally been just an intro or two, or the occasional ballad. I've played in bands with several of the members for a long time, so I thought they'd know where I'm at musically. My reading skills are quite rudimentary (and they know that), but I can usually learn lines OK if I get them in advance of the session. I'm recording with them again tomorrow, they sent me the scores last week, and I have no idea how we're going to get through it all in one session with no rehearsal. The scores consist of 7 pages of really hard to follow scrawled notation for one song, with notes outside my range, lots of meter changes, and there are four songs to get through. They're attempting to put down live string section recordings for four songs in one day, unrehearsed. I'm doing everything I can to learn the parts, but I have a horrible feeling I'm going to crash and burn tomorrow. I've tried to speak to them about this, but they seem to think we'll muddle through. I think they should have called someone with classical training, and paid them accordingly. They're old friends of mine and I think this is going to lead to a really awkward situation between us. Not sure why I'm posting this really, just wanted to vent...

Having finished it about a fortnight ago, i've just got around to taking some pictures. I opted for a black control plate in the end, as it goes with the dots and pickup covers. It's wired in typical Jazz fashion, except for a push/pull series/parallel switch. The finish is Tru-oil, using their sealer but no grain filler. I'm well pleased with the results. It weighs about 9 1/2 lbs and sounds pretty much like a good passive jazz, with no troublesome dead spots and a decent sounding B string. This is my first 5-string, and I'm finding I hardly use the low notes but love the lack of shifting when playing higher up the neck.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1329670' date='Aug 6 2011, 10:29 AM']if he would have snapped out of his drinking habit and finally "man upped" or matured, he would probably be a great band conductor, arranger and would be owning 1000's of different basses, however sadly in his last year of life he was so thrashed that he found it difficult to hold on to that one bass he had left (The bass of doom as it is known) because it was regularly left in pawn shops for him to pay his "filthy habits" Just like Charlie Parker used to do with his Saxophone.[/quote] To be fair, and slightly off topic, he did appear to be bipolar and not seeking treatment for most of his life. That's not really something you can "man up" out of - it requires treatment and the right meds. I have a couple of friends with the condition who manage things quite well. Then again, if you count seeking treatment as "manning up" then fair enough...